TY - JOUR

T1 - How leaders’ diversity beliefs alter the impact of faultlines on team functioning

AU - Schölmerich, Franziska

AU - Schermuly, C

AU - Deller, Jürgen

PY - 2016/4/1

Y1 - 2016/4/1

N2 - Teams with strong faultlines often do not achieve their full potentialbecause their functioning is impaired. We argue that strong diversity beliefsheld by team leaders mitigate the negative impact of socio-demographicand experience-based faultlines on team functioning. In a heterogeneousmultisource field sample of 217 employees nested in 44 teams and theirleaders, we tested our assumptions. Results of a path-analytic model showedthat socio-demographic faultlines were negatively related to perceivedcohesion and positively related to perceived loafing. The impact of sociodemographic faultlines on team functioning was less detrimental whenleaders held strong diversity beliefs. Against our expectations, we found nosupport for an impact of experience-based faultlines on perceived cohesionor a moderating role of leaders’ diversity beliefs in this context. Potentialexplanations for these results and implications for organizations and teamleaders are discussed.

AB - Teams with strong faultlines often do not achieve their full potentialbecause their functioning is impaired. We argue that strong diversity beliefsheld by team leaders mitigate the negative impact of socio-demographicand experience-based faultlines on team functioning. In a heterogeneousmultisource field sample of 217 employees nested in 44 teams and theirleaders, we tested our assumptions. Results of a path-analytic model showedthat socio-demographic faultlines were negatively related to perceivedcohesion and positively related to perceived loafing. The impact of sociodemographic faultlines on team functioning was less detrimental whenleaders held strong diversity beliefs. Against our expectations, we found nosupport for an impact of experience-based faultlines on perceived cohesionor a moderating role of leaders’ diversity beliefs in this context. Potentialexplanations for these results and implications for organizations and teamleaders are discussed.

KW - Business psychology

KW - subgroups

KW - faultlines

KW - leaders' diversity beliefs

KW - perceived cohesion

KW - perceived loafing

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84962569734&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/1046496416630960

DO - 10.1177/1046496416630960

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 47

SP - 177

EP - 206

JO - Small Group Research

JF - Small Group Research

SN - 1046-4964

IS - 2

ER -